


they're burning all the witches

by fallfrovmgrace



Series: i love you (kaylor one shots) [6]
Category: Taylor Swift (Musician)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-08 00:12:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17375849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallfrovmgrace/pseuds/fallfrovmgrace
Summary: Karlie, trapped inside the Study Mind Hospital, a place where the owner has a particular obsession with women, finds herself falling for a girl who everybody is afraid of: Thirteen.





	they're burning all the witches

_"They grasp your hand harshly and drag you towards that room, that dull, full of hatred and white room. And do you know what they do to you there? They tear your sanity off of your innocuous brain and try to turn you into someone you are not."_

_"They can not do that."_

_"They can, therefore pray that they won't drag you there. Once they do, there's nothing you can do to go back to how you were before."_

_\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

A never ending sea of pale and gloomy corridors stood majestically before her afraid and hunched frame, as her gaze wandered around and rested upon the carved numbers beside the dull doors of each room. The girls passing by her were paying her no mind, ignoring her curious yet terrified stare as they each worn a frown on their faces. 

It was her first day here.

The first of many. As soon as they had welcomed her inside the Study Mind Hospital that morning, a man sporting a coverall, its color grey mirroring perfectly the puffy clouds above their heads, had thrown a yellowish and used tracksuit at her. The edges of its sleeves were a little bit faded and there were some tiny holes here and there, she had noticed, when that same man had told her a little bit rudely to get inside and go towards the changing room to get dressed. She had obeyed him, since she had no other choice but to wander inside, following the mass of girls that had her same destination in mind. The first thing she had noticed as soon as she had stepped inside the dressing room was the whiteness of its walls, along with the horrible smell of sweat and urine. She had to swallow twice as she had found an empty spot to sit down at beside a slightly sturdy but small woman. Her hair was of the same color of the sky outside, her hard stare weighing upon the newcomer's shoulders. Just a few moments later, when everybody had changed into their lemon tracksuit, a man had entered the room and had called each girl by name, checking that everyone was inside and no one was missing. 

"Karlie Kloss?"

She had lifted up her hand in a timid way, some tough looking girls snickering by her side as they had realized that she was actually scared of being here. A blush had appeared on her pale cheeks as she had quickly looked down at her feet. 

She was brought back to earth by the grasp of a chapped hand around her forearm, dragging her towards the nearest wall. She was about to scream, but realized that that was probably a bad idea as soon as she turned around and saw a face that strangely had a soft and calming stare. The girl's skin was a little darker than hers, her eyes were two brown buttons and her tracksuit wasn't of the same color as hers. "You looked a little bit lost out there," she said, breaking the silence that was hanging between them. The stranger glanced at her body for a moment, "Are you new?"

Karlie, not trusting her voice at that moment, nodded and looked around herself while wrapping her arms around her torso protectively. 

"I'm Amelia," her short brown curly hair hung loosely on her forehead, making her look a little bit younger. "I know how difficult it is to get used to this place, so I can do you a favor and take you to your room, if you tell me the number,"

Karlie stared at her, a puzzled look on her face. "Why am I here?" 

The older woman sighed, starting to make her way through the crowd of girls. "It is too soon to make this type of questions, sweetheart. Come with me," Karlie followed the woman's trail of steps, exiting this corridor and entering a new one, a larger and higher one. Amelia explained, "Since it's your first day here, I assume you're in Section D, known as The Newcomers. Now, if you will please tell me the number of your room, I will bring you there,"

The taller girl replied, "I'm not in Section D," she held a tiny piece of paper between her fingertips, reading the ink that had been carved into it. "I'm in Section A, Corridor 15 and Room number 163," she read. 

Amelia halted her movements, turning around to look at her with a puzzled expression. "Corridor 15?"

Karlie, slowly, hesitantly nodded. The woman's eyes darkened, a storm within her chocolate sea, as she quickly walked past the blonde's figure. "Follow me," she demanded, Karlie having no choice but to trail her small body. The seven minutes that took them in front of Karlie's room had seemed infinite, the both of them moving through corridors that were sometimes full of girls, sometimes were left with nothing but the walls' whiteness. Amelia stopped at the beginning of a corridor, which was Corridor 15, and Karlie immediately noticed a different cell at the end of the hallway. She was about to ask about it when the smaller girl beat her to it. "This is your room," she said, pointing at the room across them. "Check up time is at ten right before you go to sleep and at dawn, so be ready to be treated like a doll tonight." she was about to turn around and leave her, when she said, "Oh, and don't act rude. If you respect them and do what they tell you to do, they will respect you just as much, alright?"

Karlie nodded. "Why is that room different from the others?"

Amelia's eyes followed the taller girl's and landed at the end of the Corridor. "Never get near that door, am I clear?" 

A shiver run down Karlie's spine as she nodded hastily. Amelia left with not another word, and she couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the owner of that strange room as she stepped inside room 163. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She didn't meet anyone beside Amelia for the first few days.

The small woman had explained that the owner of this _crazy hospital,_ her words, came up with the brilliant idea to experiment one of his latest injections into the poor women that had been trapped here for nearly seven years. This famous injection, Amelia had narrated, had made women go crazy in the past tests, and some had even died because of it. She told her that the man that was behind all of this was crazy himself, believing that his new project would make his test subjects able to make things float in the air with just the gesture of a hand or even with just a single thought. Karlie's head had started to spin upon hearing this, and Amelia had explained that just some of them would eventually undergo his crazy experiments. The owner had preferences, and Amelia had cringed when she told Karlie what he liked in a woman (blonde hair, light eyes and tall, which, unfortunately, were all Karlie's qualities). 

"That means I will be chosen, right?"

"Not necessarily," Amelia replied. They were seated at the dining hall, their table a little far away from the others as they ate their dinner quietly. "He has a..." she hesitated, looking away and feeling small under Karlie's electric stare. "He still has a pet under his wing. I don't know how long this test will last with this one. He seems to like her a lot,"

"And who is she?"

Karlie's question was left hanging in the air, as the door to the dining hall opened with a bang and two men in black suits walked in, apparently dragging a blonde girl by her arms. They dropped her at an empty table, and the conversations floating around the huge hall seemed to stop as everyone stared at the incomer. Her hands were tied with a loose rope, and her stare was just trained on her plate of food, as everyone minded their own business once again. 

"It's her," Amelia whispered, her eyes still focused on the blonde that has just walked in. Karlie gazed at the blonde's profile, seeing just her pale skin and her defined cheekbones. "They call her Thirteen. She's a special girl for Him,"

"Why's that?"

"He just likes her too much. Everyone says that she's gone too far, that she's crazy and that the injection has actually worked on her, but nobody has ever seen her in action," Amelia narrated,  playing with the food around her plastic plate. 

"What's her name?"

"Thirteen,"

"What's her _real_ name?"

"I honestly don't know. She doesn't have a lot of friends and nobody has ever wanted to get close to her," Amelia seemed afraid, her shoulders hunched, as if she was scared by the person she was talking about. Once again, Karlie's green eyes rested upon Thirteen's figure, but this time, when she looked at her face, she stared into two pools of dull blue oceans. She swallowed, feeling like she was just looking at a ghost instead of a real person. But then, before she could stop herself, her feet started dragging her towards the petite blonde, who still had her eyes trained on her. She heard Amelia calling her name in various whispers, trying in vain to not let her get close to Thirteen. 

When she reached her table, she stood breathlessly beside the seated blonde, her eyes wide open. "Hi," she stammered. The girl kept on staring at her face, her blue orbs never leaving her jade green ones. Karlie looked at the two men standing beside the smaller girl, who were skeptically eying her figure. Boldly, the taller woman placed her trembling hand onto the table, asking quietly, "Do you mind if  I sit here?"

"You should keep your distance, young girl," The slender man affirmed authoritatively, advancing forward. However, the sound of the blonde girl speaking surprised the three of them.

"She can sit," her voice was soft but hoarse at the same time. It was innocent but at the same time evil. It was sinister but calming. It sounded a lot like a stormy sea, its waves clashing against sharp rocks. It shouldn't have raised the invisible hair on the back of Karlie's head, but it did.

She sat down, and once she glanced around herself, realized that the pair had everyone's attention trained on them. Swallowing, she turned towards Thirteen and stared. What was she doing here? Why did she come here? What was she thinking? The blonde woman ignored her as she started eating her food, her fingers slightly trembling.

Thirteen had blonde hair, blue eyes that looked like ice and chapped plump lips. If her poor appearance didn't make her seem so evil, Karlie would have thought that she looked like an angel. While Karlie wore a yellow uniform, Thirteen's was different from the others. Among all the girls inside the hall, the orange color of her clothes stood out the most. She was quiet, and strangely not bothered by the tight grip around her wrists. _How long has she been here?_

"I, uh, I'm Karlie," the brunette said gently with a warm smile. She had noticed that nobody smiled here, and she had the confirmation when Thirteen looked up and glared at her. Karlie averted her gaze, not able to stand such a deathly stare. "Why is your tracksuit different from mine?" she dared to ask, a single digit pointing to the blonde's uniform.

Thriteen halted, calmly placed her fork and knife on the table, and sat silently, not answering Karlie's question. "I, uh, I saw that you were here alone, so..." her voice quivered like a leaf. Karlie looked at her face, the skin below her beautiful blue eyes pale and dry. The brunette's gaze lowered, landing on the tied hands that rested on Thirteen's lap. She wanted her to speak, that voice seeming so haunting and so pleasant that Karlie wanted to hear it again. "I just..." she took a deep breath and waited for her to keep on talking. But Thirteen stood up, so briskly that Karlie's breath momentarily hitched in her throat, and turned around. Followed by the two men, she exited the dining hall and the girls around her seemed to relax a little.

"What the fuck were you doing?!"

Amelia grabbed her arm and turned her around. "She was alone!"

"Did you hear me when I told you that she's dangerous?! She's his pet and you shouldn't talk to her! No one should!"

Karlie gaped at her, looking comoletely lost. "I'm sorry," she stammered, but Amelia didn't want to hear it.

"Just go to your room," the small woman said with a disbelieving look on her face. She shook her head and backed away from the brunette. "Pray that Thirteen doesn't hate you."

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A screech in the middle of the night woke her up, so suddenly that she had to gasp for air. The first thing she saw was the dull white of the ceiling. The sheets underneath her back were sweaty, creased, and just so white that the only color present inside of her room was the uniform she was wearing. During check-up, two uncouth and sturdy man had given her two pills, and while remembering Amelia's words, she had swallowed them without complaining. She didn't know what they were for, but she was sure that they were going to be the reason for her craziness. Her heartbeat was too irregular, too fast, and her mouth was just too dry. She wanted to drink water, but she had nothing apart from her bed inside of this room.

Sleep had run away as soon as the loud noise had woken her up, but now that her ears were more alert, she heard footsteps echoing throughout the corridor outside. They were eerily slow, and the fact that the sound seemed to increase made Karlie swallow in anticipation and fear.

Once the noise stopped, Karlie realized that the person walking outside was probably standing in front of her room. Thinking it was just a guard, she closed her eyes shut and tugged her sheets close to her chest, trying to quieten her breathing. She heard shuffling, two hands gripping the bars of the small window of her door, and then silence. Karlie bit the inside of her cheeks, not wanting to let the whimper that was forming at the base of her throat escape.

"I know that you're awake," the voice whispered quietly. It was feminine, and the fact that Karlie recognized it made the brunette tremble. "I can hear your thoughts from here,"

Karlie hesitantly opened her eyes and turned towards the door. A gasp slipped past her thin lips when meeting a blue stare filled with curiosity. Of course the voice belonged to Thirteen. Of course Thirteen was wandering around the hospital this late.

The blonde outside tilted her head to the side, inviting her to get out of her room. Karlie's eyes seemed to be unable to look away, as if she was entranced by the wonderful irises of the person standing in front of her. _Something_ made her move, get up from her bed, and pad towards the closed door made of steel. She was standing so close to Thirteen yet so far. The blonde averted her gaze, looking at something that Karlie couldn't see, but the brunette still stared intently at the woman a few feet away from her. Suddenly, _unexpectedly,_ the door opened, and the silent noise made Karlie look away. She was surprised, because the door had been locked a few minutes ago, right? How could Thirteen open it so easily? But then Karlie recalled Amelia's words, of how the injection had actually worked on this woman.

"How did you do that," Karlie asked breathlessly when she was out of the room. The door closed behind her and she let out an inaudible sigh when Thirteen's hand pressed against it, trapping Karlie between the door and her body. The brunette gazed at her eyes, noticing the few and different shades of blue that were inside of them. Thirteen looked back at her with curiosity, her face a few inches away from Karlie's. The blonde smelled of dull hospital beds, of pills, and of insanity. With her free hand, Thirteen touched her face delicately, tracing the skin of her cheek with just the tip of her index finger. Karlie held her breath throughout the entire exchange, not knowing if she should just push the woman away or if she shouldn't move at all.

Thirteen's plump lips slightly turned upwards, the ghost of a smile forming on her pale face. When the woman leaned in, their noses brushed, but Thirteen backed away just as quickly as she had moved close to Karlie. She slowly took a few steps back, simply staring at the brunette as Karlie let go of the trembling breath she was holding. Thirteen didn't say a word. She turned around and quietly went back to her room. Karlie went back to hers only when Thirteen stepped inside of her chamber, the sound of two doors closing echoing throughout the silent corridor 15.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karlie was sitting on the table near the end of the chamber. Here, the _patients_ could have some free time, spending it with the other girls of the hospital and playing some games that the building offered them.

"Hey, newbie," Amelia sat beside her with a teasing smile. "This is Sandra. She likes mathematic and physic. She's basically a nerd,"

The new woman was wearing round shaped glasses, her shoulder length brown hair reminded Karlie of the sister she had outside of this life and her almond eyes looked shy and private. The brunette offered her a faint smile, her mind replaying the happenings of the night before.

"You okay?" Amelia asked her once she noticed her friend's absence on their conversation. "You look ill. Are the pills already kicking in?"

"What pills?" Amelia tilted her head with a frown. "Oh, _those_ pills. I took them, I swear, but it's—it's not that. I'm okay. I'm completely fine," she didn't sound convinced, but even though she knew that Amelia could hear the lies in her tone, her friend didn't show her disappointment.

"You need to relax," the small woman suggested, playing chess with Sandra. The other woman agreed. "If they see you like this," she pointed to the guards standing by the double doors. "They will suspect that something is going on and they will take you to...to _that_ room,"

"What room?"

Two pair of dark eyes stared at her. "You don't want to know,"

"I do, Amelia,"

"You're too innocent to know about that room,"

"Amelia, I want to know everything about this damn hospital."

Her friend stared at her pawns and sighed deeply. " _What_ do you want to know?"

Karlie swallowed. "Tell me—do you know more about that girl? Thirteen?"

"Karlie,"

"Please,"

The pleading look coming from the tall brunette convinced Amelia. "She's been his pet for three years. She was new when He had discovered her among the crowd. You had to see the look on His face when he had seen her," she shook her head as she remembered that day. "I was there, that day he chose her. Two guards had taken her away while all of us stared without doing anything," she closed her eyes and slumped against her seat. "I still remember the sound of her screams. How she kicked the air so as to break free. We didn't see her for a long time, but after a week, she returned and looked different. She wasn't—she wasn't the same. The women entering that room are never the same when they come back alive from that place. We had lost her. We had lost her the day she had been targeted by that piece of shit."

Flashes of the night before replayed at the forefront of Karlie's mind, blue eyes haunting her thoughts as she pictured the mysterious woman kicking and screaming for freedom.

"I don't know her real name, though," Amelia continued. "I know that everyone calls her Thirteen because she—she has killed thirteen guards once, and that is also why everyone is so scared to talk to her. Because nobody knows what she can do with those hands. Nobody knows what goes on in that mind,"

Karlie contemplated telling her the happenings of the night before, but decided to keep it to herself once she realized that there were too many people in the room. Amelia had seemed so angry the day before, when she had interacted with Thriteen. She was sure that telling her that woman had been so close to her the night before was going to be a horrible idea. Besides, she felt like her strange interaction with that blonde woman needed to be a secret. Thirteen scared her, but at the same time having her close and being in the same room as hers exhilarated her. She had felt an electric tingle on her spine when Thirteen had touched her face the night before. Her finger had been so careful, so calculated and so delicate that Karlie wanted to feel her close again.

"What do you know about the uniforms? Why is mine different from yours?"

Amelia's tracksuit was green. "I've been here for a few years, and once they've used you and realized that you're _useless,_ " she laughed bitterly and shook her head. "they make you wear a green uniform. Yellow means that you're new. Grey," she pointed to Sandra. "means that your intelligence will be used for the practical things. Like calculations, counting pills and helping clean the bathrooms," she explained.

"And orange?"

Amelia stared at her. "Orange is for people like Thirteen," she sighed, looking away from Karlie's attentive stare. "It means that you belong to Him and only Him." 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apparently, every single patient here had a folder. Date of birth, origin, family. Everything was written inside of that folder. When Karlie discovered about this, she had immediately asked Amelia where they kept them. Her friend had looked at her with a skeptical look, but relented and told her that there was an office, at the end of corridor 11. All the folders were there. Karlie had thanked her, but before she could leave the play room, Amelia had warned her that guards monitored that room every hour of the day, but informed her that during the night, the coast was clear.

And here she was, unable to sleep as the thought of sneaking outside and venturing into the infinite corridors pestered her mind. The desire of discovering Thirteen's name was unbearable. She wanted to be able to put a name to that beautiful face, to those angelic and heavenly blue eyes. She wanted to know her as a person, not as the number that everyone had put on her. Thirteen fascinated her, she intrigued her. She made the adrenaline flow inside her veins and made her heart beat faster. She wanted to know her name. She _needed_ to know her name.

With a silent curse, she got up from the bed and opened the door. Ever since that time Thirteen had magically opened it, the guards had been unable to lock it, but since Karlie had obtained the reputation of the good and innocent girl, they trusted her to the point where they were sure she didn't need to use the lock in her door. Little did they know, they had been so wrong. So, _so_ wrong.

Karlie checked that the corridor was clear, and once a cold breeze got through the flimsy fabric of her yellow tracksuit, she walked slowly towards corridor 11. Days ago, while putting together the details of her plan, she had found a map of the place, and had found a way to reach the corridor in the easiest way possible. She knew that she risked a lot tonight, but the persistent desire of finding out Thirteen's name kept her going.

When she finally reached it, she saw a different door made of wood instead of steel at the center of the corridor. She verified various times that no guards were in sight, and quickly made her way towards the office. It was locked, but she came prepared. She picked a hairpin from her brunette hair and slid it into the keyhole. After having practiced a lot during the previous days, the door opened after a few minutes of trying. She entered the room with her heart in her throat, feeling her pulse quicken when she got a glimpse of the folders from the small split of the drawers. There was a desk at the end of the room, some plants decorating the chamber and the walls were _surprisingly_ not white. They were still dull, but Karlie appreciated seeing a bit of red after days and days of seeing just white.

She padded towards the drawers, but when she opened them, she realized that Thirteen's folder had probably her real name on it. Still, she looked through the folders that belonged to patients whose name began with a _T_ , and hoped to find Thirteen among all these files.

She cursed when she found nothing, but decided to look through them one more time, because she couldn't go back to her room empty handed. Once there was no folder with Thirteen's name, she closed the drawer rather harshly and stood up with a frustrated sigh. How could she have been so stupid? Of course the hospital wouldn't have a folder named _Thirteen_. That woman had a name before that. She was still a _human._

Just when Karlie had lost all of her hopes, while she inspected the desk, she found a creased folder, its paper darker and more used compared to the others. When the brunette turned it to investigate further, her heart stopped beating when she read _Thirteen_. The ink was fading, but while the temptation urged her to open and discover everything about that woman, the faint sound of footsteps outside made her panic. She quickly put the folder underneath the shirt of her yellow uniform and silently exited the room, turning off the lights. Fortunately, a guard was coming her way, but she turned around the corner before he could spot her figure. Karlie run towards her room, stepping inside and closing the door behind her heaving chest. Once in the safety of her chamber, she took a deep breath and shuffled towards the hard mattress, sitting down and taking out the folder. She held the papers between her quivering fingers, anticipation along with guilt nagging her mind. Karlie ignored the latter, putting it in the back of her brain as she closed her eyes and opened the folder. When she let her gaze fall down on the creased paper, she moved it towards the only spot of the bed that was illuminated by the moonlight.

Karlie gaped as two simple words in the middle of the sheet stared back at her. "Oh, my God," she whispered, brushing her fingers against the black ink.

_Taylor Swift._

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thirteen is staring at you,"

Karlie looked surprised upon hearing this. She glanced behind her back, finding out that her friend was correct. The blonde was gazing at her with such a hard yet tender stare that a tremor went through her abdomen. Thirteen's eyes were emptier than usual and Karlie spotted a bruise on the side of her neck, just below her ear. It was small, but it was still a bruise. Karlie clenched her jaw and her hands turned into fists as sudden and unexpected rage and anxiety overcame her body.

"Amelia," she called. "I need to tell you something,"

Her friend glanced at her with expectant brown eyes. "What is it?"

"I—I know Thirteen's name," she whispered, afraid of letting someone else overhear their conversation. Amelia put down her bread and swallowed her food before nodding, wanting to hear more about this discovery. "It's Taylor," she admitted. "Taylor Swift,"

"Taylor?" Amelia asked just as quietly. Karlie quickly nodded. "How did you—" she halted, her eyes momentarily losing the spark before recognition made its way into her dark irises. "Karlie,"

"I was curious!" she exclaimed, and a few heads turned their way. "I was just curious,"

"Well, do you know more about her?"

"Her folder just says that she was born in 1989 and that she had a sister who died at the age of thirteen,"

"How ironic," Amelia chuckled. "Well, is that it?"

"Yes,"

"At least we know her real name. She seems to have an obsession with thirteen. Maybe that's why she has killed just thirteen men and not fourteen," she supposed, shrugging. "You still seem a little disappointed, though,"

"I want to know more about her," Karlie admitted out loud. She looked at her friend with wide green eyes, not realizing that she's actually said those words to Amelia when she had promised herself that she wouldn't tell anyone about her curiosity she had towards the blonde woman. "I—"

"You know that she's dangerous, right? You don't know what she's capable of doing,"

"Neither do you," Karlie retorted. Amelia's shoulders hunched forward slightly. "I don't mean it in a bad way," she apologized, finishing her meal. "I just—I really want to know her better. She's still a person. She's still like us,"

"No, she's not," Amelia shook her head. "She's not like us."

That was the last thing she said before the double doors of the dining hall opened with a bang. The two women turned towards the commotion, and Amelia's blood froze when she spotted _Him._ "It's Him," she whispered, obviously agitated by his presence. Upon hearing this, Karlie glanced at Thirteen, whose calm demeanor turned into an alarmed one, her body stiff and eyes wide. The man who had just entered the large room had grown a mustache that made him look older, the few hair on top of his head was as white as the walls and he was extremely tall and intimidating. He scanned the dining hall, his eyes as grey as a stormy ocean, and finally they landed upon Thirteen.

"My beloved pet," he said with a sweet voice, placing his hands on her shoulders. The room was silent, his voice clear to everyone. He leaned down towards her neck and let his lips graze Thirteen's jaw, the blonde woman closing her eyes in disgust and pain. Karlie clenched her mandible, feeling furious at being forced to witness this obscenity. She just wanted to go there and punch that stupid man. She wanted to protect the blonde from him, but she knew better than that, and kept her anger at bay. "One of you has stolen something that was mine," he announced, moving away from Thirteen, who obviously exhaled in relief. "And you _all know_ that I get really, _really_ angry when something that is mine gets lost," he smirked. "So it better come out the thief who has stolen Thirteen's folder."

At that, Amelia subtly looked at Karlie, whose face suddenly drained all of its color and became pale. The brunette saw Thirteen go back to her usual cold and dull self, but almost too soon, their eyes met across the room and Karlie saw something that she's never seen in her blue eyes. Something that resembled anger.

After those words, He left the room and all the girls went back to talking, but an electric tension was hanging above all of their heads. The brunette's stomach had turned into knots and she was sure that Thirteen now hated her.

"Karlie,"

"I know," they stared at each other for a quiet moment. "I will figure out something to give it back,"

"You can't just _give it back,_ " Amelia said. "You need to put it back on its place but you need to do it when nobody sees you. If He—" she sighed hopelessly. "If He _knows_ that it was you, Karlie, you will regret it. I swear, Karlie, you don't want to find out the things He does to women,"

"Amelia," she interrupted her. "I will figure something out. I promise," she repeated with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Her friend exhaled deeply. "Just know that I'm here if you need any help,"

Karlie nodded. She wanted to check if Thirteen was still staring at her, but when she looked behind her back, her heart dropped when seeing that she was no longer seated at her table. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The faint knock at her door made her eyes open slowly. When she looked up at the window, she noticed that it was still night, the moonlight still caressing her feet, so why was someone knocking at her door when they could just open it? Karlie suspected that it wasn't a guard, because guards don't just knock at a patient's door, but still, the brunette got up and exited the chamber. When seeing no one in front of her room, she took a few steps outside. However, a hand wrapped around her mouth and pushed her back inside, that intoxicating smell of insanity filling her nostrils as soon as her back collided with the closed door of her room. Soon, her eyes were being held hostage by two beautiful blue oceans, although the waves inside of them weren't as calming and welcoming as a few days ago.

She whimpered, feeling her whole body on fire as she realized that Thirteen was pressed against her, the only thing separating their skin was their tracksuit. The blonde's face was a few centimeters away from hers, and her hand was still clamped around her mouth, preventing her from making any sounds. Karlie tried to break free, but between Thirteen's body keeping her against the door and the arm wrapped around her waist, her strength was nothing compared to the blonde's. Therefore the brunette stopped moving, and when Thirteen noticed, the hold around her body loosened and became more comfortable and bearable. "Why?" she whispered. She removed her hand from Karlie's mouth, the latter exhaling deeply and closing her eyes. Thirteen placed her now free hand against the door, still trapping Karlie like a bird inside a golden cage. But Karlie loved the contact. Karlie loved the closeness of their bodies, of Thirteen's face. Karlie loved seeing her eyes so up close.

"I was curious," she doesn't know what had gotten into her, but the blonde deserved to know the truth. The arm around her waist disappeared and instead Thirteen placed her other hand against the door, their bodies no longer touching. "I was curious," she repeated after a while.

"Curiosity kills, you know?" her voice was so hoarse and deep that an involuntary whimper made its way out of Karlie's lips.

"You won't kill me," the brunette said matter of factly. "Right, _Taylor_?"

Thirteen's eyes widened and she seemed taken aback. The blonde's hand touched Karlie's hair, stroking it, letting the dark tresses slip through her fingers as if it were soft sand. "No," she replied honestly. Karlie almost smiled at that, but when lowering her gaze, she spotted another dark bruise, this time on her shoulder.

"Does He hit you?" Karlie asked and, boldly, caressed the tender skin with just two fingers. Thirteen shivered at the contact. Nobody has ever touched her this way, so gently, as if someone really cared about her. The blonde nodded, not wanting to voice the answer, and she let her head fall against Karlie's shoulder as the brunette's hand found its way into her hair, massaging her scalp slowly. "Does He hurt you?" Thirteen nodded again. Karlie sighed and shakily wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close.

"Why do you talk to me?" Thirteen asked quietly, her forehead still against the side of Karlie's neck. Her warm breath hit her sensitive skin from time to time, and the brunette welcomed the shivers that Thirteen's closeness provided her.

"Because I want to know more about you," Karlie replied, the truth coming out of her mouth easily when it came to the blonde she was holding in her arms.

"Why?"

The brunette traced invisible figures on her back, occasionally grazing the tips of her blonde wavy hair. "You intrigue me," Karlie whispered against her ear. Thirteen exhaled at that, her lips brushing against her jaw as she pulled away from her body. Their faces were still close when their eyes met, and Karlie saw nothing but a destroyed soul inside of those blue irises.

"I intrigue you?"

"Yeah," she replied. Their noses brushed, Thirteen's breath now caressing her thin lips. The blonde's mouth was parted just slightly, and it looked so, _so_ inviting.

"What is so intriguing about me?" she asked quietly. Karlie looked down at her lips before meeting her gaze once again.

"Everything," she replied. "Everyone here gets to still feel human, but you don't. Nobody sees you as a human anymore, and I just think that you deserve someone who looks at you. Who truly _looks_ at you. Who looks at your human side and just doesn't see you as a number or as a pet,"

"Do you see me as a human?"

Thirteen moved closer, her body touching Karlie's cold one. The brunette looked down at their chests, the colors of their yellow and orange uniforms standing out, before she turned her attention to the blonde woman, who was still waiting for her response. "Yes,"

Thirteen's hand beside her head turned into a fist, her blue eyes falling down on Karlie's lips. "Karlie?"

"Yes?"

Thirteen hesitated. "I want to kiss you," she admitted. "Can I kiss you?"

Karlie didn't know what made her head slowly move up and down in an affirmative nod, but soon, she felt _Taylor_ 's parted lips collide with hers. The blonde rested her mouth against Karlie's, whose breath became shallow and more heavy. They breathed in each other's mouth, Taylor being the one to tilt her head forward and fully connect their lips. The kiss wasn't filled with lust or with greed, but rather the need of comfort, the need of feeling a little bit human in the midst of all of this madness. Taylor pushed her body against Karlie's, tilting her head to the side as she deepened the kiss. While the blonde got a little taste of the brunette's humanity, Karlie got a little taste of Taylor's world, of her insanity. The tall woman lost her hands within her blonde hair, tugging at it gently when Thirteen's tongue brushed and teased her bottom lip. Karlie cupped her cheeks as soon as their tongues met fervently, feeling Taylor's cold cheeks move due to their intense kiss.

Thirteen was the one to pull away first, her eyes still closed, savoring the taste of the brunette's mouth that lingered on her lips. Karlie stared at her for a moment, admiring her delicate features. When their eyes met again, Thirteen backed away from her body and Karlie moved away from the door. Not a word was exchanged, as the blonde silently exited the room and left her alone. The brunette was still breathing heavily, the intoxicating smell of the other woman still invading her nostrils even though she wasn't here anymore. She doesn't know what this kiss meant for them but she supposed it wasn't insignificant for the other woman since she was the one who had asked for it. She was the one to initiate it all, to set Karlie's heart on fire with just the tip of her fingers.

The tall woman sighed, rubbing the back of her hand against her mouth, still feeling Taylor's lips against hers. She walked towards the bed, sat, and put her head in her hands.

The ghost of Thirteen's eyes haunted her all night.  
  


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She was sitting in the play room, drawing mindlessly on a creased piece of white paper, when suddenly the door opened and the room fell silent. Karlie looked around, wondering why everyone had stopped talking, but as soon as her gaze fell upon the blonde woman standing in front of her table, the crayon she was using slipped away from her fingers. Thirteen's wrists weren't tied, but Karlie noticed two men standing by the double doors, eyeing the two skeptically. Her gaze returned to the blonde woman, who was still looking down at her with a neutral expression. She recalled them kissing a few nights ago, and with a blush she averted her eyes, going back to her drawing. Taylor took her silence as an invitation to sit across her, and slowly sat on the seat on the other side of the table. As Karlie drew mindless figures, she felt the blonde's eyes trained on her, and she wasn't surprised to meet her blue irises when she lifted her head towards her. The brunette offered her a smile but Thirteen remained still, not returning the simple smile.

When Karlie looked around, she noticed that everyone was blatantly staring at them, and actually realized how strange her sitting with Thirteen was. She saw Sandra, gazing at her from the back of the room, and then Amelia, who sat beside her. Amelia had a worried glint in her chocolate brown eyes, her attention darting from the brunette to the blonde woman. Karlie offered her friend a _don't worry I'm okay_ smile, and then turned towards Taylor, who was gazing at her.

Thirteen pointed to her piece of paper, silently asking her to hand it to her. Karlie complied, letting the sheet slide along the table until it was under Taylor's hands. The blonde wrote something before she gave it back to the other woman. Karlie looked at her and then glanced at the paper.

**I want to see you tonight.**

Karlie blushed and wrote down her answer, unable to look the blonde in the eyes.

**Okay.**

Thirteen's blue irises lit up with excitement, something that Karlie has never seen until now. Taylor's eyes were always so dark, so emotionless and dull that it was a surprise to see something light up inside of them.

Apparently, the blonde didn't need anything else, because then she got up, stared at Karlie for a moment, and then exited the play room as if nothing happened. Once she was gone, nobody dared to sit beside the brunette, not even her friends. But Karlie didn't care, because the prospect of seeing Taylor that night was more than enough to put a small smile on her face for the rest of the day. 

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Taylor was caressing her face, her body lying beside Karlie's as the only source of light inside of the room was coming from the moon outside. The blonde had propped up her weight on her elbow, her eyes entranced as they followed the slow and delicate movements of her fingers across Karlie's cheeks. The brunette was lying on her back while the blonde was on her side, their legs intertwined above the white sheets of the tall woman's bed. Karlie stared at Taylor, unable to believe that everyone was scared of such a beautiful human being. Taylor was gentle, her movements graceful and delicate, and yet, everybody believed that she was harmful. That she would hurt someone with the same hands that were tracing mindless circles along her face. Karlie felt safe. She felt protected and at ease. Taylor made her feel things that she's never felt before.

Unexpectedly, Thirteen leaned in and kissed her tenderly, slowly, the only sound filling the room was their lips colliding gently. The blonde's hand lowered until it reached Karlie's abdomen, and the brunette's breath hitched as Taylor broke their kiss in order to stare at her face. Thirteen slipped her fingers beneath her yellow uniform, touching the brunette's hot skin. Her hand wandered until her fingers brushed against the underside of her bra and Karlie couldn't help but moan quietly. The sensation of her cold hands against her warm flesh lit up her body on fire, and the brunette reached up and cupped Taylor's face, before gently bringing her down and connecting their lips in an urgent kiss. Thirteen's hand finally covered Karlie's left breast and squeezed it lightly, evoking another needy whimper from the girl lying underneath her. Taylor kissed her neck, her hand still massaging her chest as she slipped a leg in between Karlie's.

What they were doing felt _so_ right that the brunette couldn't think of anything else apart from Thirteen's lips and hands on her body. She craved her touch, she craved feeling her against her. Taylor licked the lower part of her neck, her free hand tugging at her uniform in order to have more space. The sound of heavy breath and lips touching hot skin filled the room, as Karlie impatiently lifted her hips. Thirteen understood her needs, and while she kissed her again, her hand subtly slipped beneath her yellow pants and came in contact with the most sensitive part of the brunette's body.

Taylor blocked any sound coming from Karlie with her mouth, swallowing her heavenly moans while her fingers worked against and inside of her.

"Tay—Taylor," a soft groan escaped from her lips in the form of the blonde's name, and hearing that word made Thirteen moan against her mouth as she quickened her pace. Karlie breathed heavily as she clenched around Taylor's fingers, the sensation sending her over the edge. The blonde held her tightly as she wrapped her arms around her torso. She put her head in the crook of the brunette's neck, nuzzling against it as she kissed the love bite that she had made a few minutes ago.

"Karlie?"

"Hm?"

They laid in silence for a few minutes, and for a moment Karlie suspected that she had fallen asleep.

"I want to get us out of here," Thirteen whispered and if she hadn't been so close to her face, Karlie wouldn't have heard it.

"What?"

"I want to get out of here. You and me, together," she repeated. "Do you want to come with me?"

Karlie stared at her for a moment, pondering over her answer silently. But then, her lips turned upwards in a tender smile, and the word slipped out of her mouth in a quiet whisper, in an unbreakable promise.

"Always."  
  


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"What's going on between you and Thirteen?"

"Nothing,"

"I don't believe you,"

Karlie sighed and lowered her glass of water, as she looked around the dining hall, spotting Taylor a few tables away from theirs. Ever since she had promised Karlie they would get out of here together, Taylor had spent almost every night with the brunette. The taller woman didn't know how she could sneak out of her room this easily since it seemed there were so many guards surrounding her all the time, but Karlie didn't complain. Sleeping beside Taylor, holding her, kissing her, was more than enough for the brunette. She knew that their relationship was odd and weird, but she couldn't care less. She cared about that woman, and she came to the conclusion that Taylor cared a lot about her, too.

"Nothing," she repeated, a tone of finality in her voice. Amelia took a deep breath.

"We're friends. You can talk to me, Karlie," she said worried. "I don't want you to get hurt,"

"Taylor would never hurt me," she replied, voice filled with determination. Only when Amelia stared at her, she realized that Thirteen's real name had slipped past her lips. "She's human. You know nothing about her,"

"I'm by your side," her friend raised her hands in surrender. "No need to get so defensive,"

"I'm sorry,"

"Don't be, it's okay," Amelia smiled.

However, their happy moment was interrupted by the loud bang that the door had caused. When they turned around, it was too late, because suddenly hands were against her shoulders, and Karlie found herself with her back against the cold tile floor of the dining hall. One of the guards was hovering above her, and through her peripheral vision she saw Amelia being dragged away from her and Him standing beside them with an angry scowl on his old face.

"Pathetic, look at you," He said in disgust. "Aren't you ashamed, little thief? Did you think that I wouldn't have found Thirteen's folder? And putting it underneath your bed," he snickered evilly. "Such a stupid move. You'll pay the consequences, newbie,"

The guard slammed her against the table as he pushed both of her arms behind her back in order to tie her wrists.

"No! Don't you dare hurt her!" she heard Taylor scream, a plate breaking in million pieces as it fell to the ground. The woman with the orange tracksuit tried to move closer, and Karlie saw her eyes go wide, a fire burning within them as He stopped her too soon.

"What are you doing, my pet? You shouldn't care about a thief," He reasoned with a sweet tone. However, Taylor looked up at him, her blue eyes uninviting and dangerous as her lips formed a pout, and spitted on him. "Don't do this, Thirteen," he warned lowly, the grip around her forearms tightening. Two guards shuffled towards the pair, handcuffing the blonde woman as she desperately wiggled and tried to break free, her hopeless gaze directed at the brunette.

"Take both of them to the White Room," He stated. "It looks like I will have two pets," he added. With that, multiple guards dragged Thirteen and Karlie out of the dining hall, the desperate gazes of the brunette's friends following them as they went.   
  


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Karlie whimpered, as another palm landed onto her cheek rather harshly. The straps fastened around her wrists hurt like hell, but what hurt the most was staring back at Taylor, who was standing inside a tall and white bubble that prevented her from using her _powers._ The brunette had been forced to sit on an hospital chair, her forearms exposed so one of the doctors could pump in the infamous injection that would take her soul away. A man dressed in a white coat moved closer to her, the tall woman's eyelids falling shut as she kept on listening to Taylor's screams, which pleaded them to stop.

Karlie followed the syringe as it neared the middle of her forearm, the long needle standing out and making the brunette dizzy as soon as the doctor inserted it in her skin. She whimpered, the world suddenly becoming fuzzy. Black and white spots filled her vision, her head lolling from left to right.

She exhaled deeply, the doctor moving away. He wrote down something on a file, but the brunette's eyes became blurry, Taylor's figure vanishing gradually as her pleads became more distant. She heard the blonde hit the bubble with her fists, the sound faint in Karlie's ears as her head fell to the side, and everything turned into black, finally distracting her from all the white around her.   
  


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When she woke up the next time, she was surprised to find herself back at her room. She was surprised to be alive, to be completely honest. She started doubting that everything that had happened was just a dream, but the cruel reality hit her as soon as she sat up on the bed, her right arm hurting as she let out a soft hiss. Of course it had happened. She recalled Taylor's high pitched voice, hearing the tears in her voice and seeing her small frame kick the bubble in vain. She remembered the faint pain she had felt when the doctor had inserted the needle, but she didn't feel different. She didn't feel like she could lift a bed with just her train of thoughts. She didn't feel like she could kill someone. She felt normal. Her heartbeat was normal, and she wasn't sweating. Everything seemed fine, although it probably wasn't. Perhaps the injection would take days to kick in, or maybe He had ordered to inject something else, something that would only scare her away. But Karlie felt normal. Completely normal.

She got up, moved towards her door, and looked outside the small window. It was night, the corridor dark and silent.

She wanted to see Taylor, to check if she was okay, to hold her one more time and to kiss her like there was no tomorrow. But something inside of her told her that she wouldn't see her tonight, or any time soon.

She just hoped that her gut feeling was wrong, because she didn't know what she would have done if Taylor had been hurt because of her.  
  


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Three days since she's last seen her. Beautiful blue eyes had visited her dreams far too many times, and she just wanted to see them in real life and get lost in them over and over again. She didn't know what happened outside of her room anymore, because guards just served her lunch and dinner and her usual pills, but they didn't let her get out of it. Was it to make her go insane? Was it to distance her from Taylor? She didn't know, but she just wanted to get out of here. Out of this place, out of this room, and breathe some fresh air. It felt like she's spent months, years even, in here, but she's completely sure that it's been just a few weeks, if not a couple of months.

Suddenly, the door of her room opened and closed in an instant, and when Karlie turned around to see yet another guard, she was surprised to be face to face with the girl that had haunted her dreams.

"Don't talk," she said, placing her hand against Karlie's mouth, preventing her from making any sound. The brunette stared at her, wide eyed, and noticed that she looked different. The outline of her blue eyes was red, her gaze was bloodshot, and she looked crazier than a few days ago. What did they do to her? "Just come with me. I can't take it anymore."

She didn't explain. Taylor urged Karlie to stand up and when they were outside, she held her hand close to her body, not wanting to ever let her go. The taller girl followed the blonde, but she didn't understand the meaning of her words until she saw the words _exit_ above a huge steel door. They were escaping. Together. And Karlie wasn't even ready for this yet. She hadn't even said goodbye to Amelia, to Sandra. But then, she wasn't even sure if they would be able to fully escape from this hell. Taylor has been here for a few years, but even with her powers, she has never been able to get out of here. _Maybe she didn't have a reason to leave_ , a voice in the back of her mind told her. Karlie glanced at the girl that was leading them outside. Even though she looked like a mess right now, with blonde hair slightly ruffled and pale cheeks, she still was beautiful under Karlie's eyes.

They got out of the main building, but once they were in the garden, there were guards everywhere, and suddenly, they were face to face with Him, who was looking at them smugly.

"Did you think you could escape this easily, my love?" He asked, moving near them and reaching out to touch Taylor's cheek. However, the blonde flinched away and sped towards the gate, which was strangely open, and dragged Karlie along. It was all a rush, with the brunette hearing faintly the sound of the guards running towards them, the noise of their heavy breathing as Taylor looked behind them to see if they were catching up easily.

The gate was about to be closed forever, but they succeeded on slipping through the slim gap.

Too soon, a hand grabbed Thirteen's forearm, stopping their run as Taylor tried to break free. Their hands lost contact, Karlie covering herself behind the blonde as she held her hands up in order to scare the guards away. But then, He moved closer, and smirked, snickered.

"You can't escape, pet. You're stuck," He said evilly. Karlie saw Taylor tremble with anger, her hands closing into fists as she lifted a man and threw it far away from them, surprising everyone around them. The brunette had never seen her in action.

"I'm not," she muttered.

The dark night around them was filled with lights coming from the towers beside the walls of the hospital, illuminating the scene. The two girls backed away, the guards standing behind Him as they waited for a signal. Karlie was surprised to see them armed, and gulped when one of them aimed at them with a gun.

"You are, my love," He tried to convince her. "You can't escape. You both can't,"

Taylor whimpered, and out of pure anger, she threw her arms in front of her and screamed, a strange energy coming out of her palms as it run over the few guards. He looked at her with a fascinated gaze, probably glad to finally see that his stupid injection had worked on one of his patients, on Taylor.

Another wave of energy hit them, and while they were caught off guard, the blonde took advantage of the situation and dragged Karlie away. There was a car parked a few feet away from the entrance, and Taylor pushed the brunette inside the driver's seat. However, Karlie was confused when the blonde didn't hurry up and went to the other side to sit on the passenger's side.

"Taylor," Karlie said quietly. "Come on, we need to go," she said in a panic.

The blonde stared at her, the lights behind her making her look like an angel sent from above. "You need to go, Karlie. You need to go,"

The brunette stared at her, confused for a moment, but when she got the message, she immediately began to shake her head in a negative manner. "No. I'm not leaving you, Taylor. You're coming with me,"

It was desperate, but in that moment Karlie realized she needed Taylor. She needed her by her side, she needed the sense of security that only the blonde provided her. She couldn't just _leave_ her behind.

"Karlie," Taylor said calmly. "I love you. I've never loved anyone, but I love you,"

"No, Taylor," the brunette tried to open the door, but Taylor's weight against it prevented it from happening. She was stuck inside. "No. You can't just say that to me and leave me. We were supposed to do this together,"

"I'm sorry," Taylor said, and Karlie noticed that she was crying. The tears made her eyes all the more beautiful, and the brunette reached out of the lowered window to grip the back of her neck.

"I love you, too, Taylor," she whimpered, putting her forehead against the blonde. They kissed, slowly, deeply, the sound of the guards running towards them interrupting their little moment. "I love you,"

"Thank you for seeing me as a human. I will never forget it," Taylor said sincerely. She slowly backed away from the car, and the last thing she said to the brunette was, "I'll see you on the other side," before turning around and facing the numerous crowd of guards. Karlie watched as one of them shot her in the abdomen, her body kneeling and giving up when another kicked her side. Karlie quickly started the getaway car, but when she was about to press down on the speed pedal, she realized that she didn't want to live in a world where Taylor wasn't there with her. She didn't want to live when the blonde had died for her. She didn't want to live when she was supposed to be with Taylor. Then, she remembered Thirteen's words. _I'll see you on the other side._ She had given her two options. One was to run away, escape. The other was to give up. To accept her death and meet Taylor again. The second was more appealing to her, it made more sense, because Taylor was waiting for her. She had given up her life in order to live one where they could be free, together.

So, she accepted her fate.

She got out of the car, and she stared at the guard as he raised his gun towards her. She smiled, closed her eyes, and whimpered when the bullet hit the side of her heart. She fell to the ground, her soul leaving her body, and the last things she saw before life slipped away from her were ocean blue eyes and a smile that would always be her safe haven.


End file.
